About 500 Asian-American performers have appeared in various companies of "Miss Saigon," but it can be safely said that the musical does not resonate for any of them in the way it does for Phong Truong. Phong is the only native of Vietnam to have appeared in any version of the musical.
"I was born in Saigon, but my family left when I was 3," he recently said in a phone interview. Truong's father was an English interpreter during the war. When it became apparent that the Communist North Vietnamese were going to conquer the south, his dad knew he would have to get his family out of the country.
His parents disguised themselves as fishermen, wrapped Phong and his 16-month-old sister in fishing nets and slipped out of the country in a boat. Away from shore, they met up with relatives, and the family spent 35 days at sea before landing in Hong Kong. Truong grew up in Chicago and Atlanta, studied theater in college and had appeared in "Tommy" and "42nd Street" at the Seaside Music Theatre in Daytona Beach, Fla., before being cast in "Miss Saigon." Now a U.S. citizen, Truong returned to Vietnam for the first time last December, reuniting with his maternal grandparents. "Going back was an awakening to my culture," the young actor said. "Some of the scenes from the show really hit home. I am very proud to display this history for audiences." After he was cast in the musical, Truong asked his father about the family's flight from their homeland. His dad wrote a detailed account of the decision to leave, the planning and the escape. "The emotions portrayed in the show are very accurate," Truong said. "It reflects what my family went through."
